Zoning board to hold Oct. 20 hearing on church plan for Monastero’s restaurant site

The Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to hold a hearing on a proposal to build a church on the site of Monastero’s Ristorante, 3935 W. Devon Ave., which is closing on Nov. 18.

The Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church is seeking a special use permit to establish a 950-seat church in a business district and a second special use for a 161-space parking lot. The hearing will be held during the 2 p.m. session of the Zoning Board of Appeals’ meting on Friday, Oct. 20, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St.

The church, whose current location is at 4850 N. Bernard St., plans to purchase the property and have the restaurant and adjoining banquet facility demolished. The property was rezoned last summer from B1-1 to B1-2 to accommodate the project.

Alderman Margaret Laurino (39th) issued a letter of "no objection" to the zoning proposal. Improvements, including the addition of more windows, were made to the planned facade of the church since a community meeting on the proposal was held earlier in the year, according to a Laurino aide.

Also on the zoning board’s agenda are yard variation requests to accommodate a plan for a rear two-story addition to a home at 5878 N. Kolmar Ave.